Music to Game to: Motorpsycho and Ståle Storløkken - The Death Defying Unicorn

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

MOTORPSYCHO AND STÅLE STORLØKKEN – THE DEATH DEFYING UNICORN: “A FANCIFUL AND FAIRLY FAR-OUT MUSICAL FABLE”

A prog rock double length concept album about a criminal given a choice between hanging and joining the ship, the Death Defying Unicorn, as a cabin boy as they journey to the uncharted ‘Hollow Land’, The Death Defying Unicorn amply lives up to its subtitle as a “Fanciful and Fairly Far-Out Musical Fable”. The music surges and swells, recedes and swirls, oceanic in its psychedelic melodies. The nearly over-wrought prog grandeur makes this album perfect for any heroic high fantasy game, and the themes of doomed nautical exploration make it a fine fit pirate or other maritime games as well.

Vocals?...Yes
Music Genre(s)…Prog Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Perfect for…Epic High Fantasy Games, Games with a Pirate Flair
If you only grab one track, make it... “Through the Veil”, a 16 minute epic storm of cacophony and psychedelic chaos that makes incredible use of the many backing instruments provided by the string ensemble Trondheimsolistene and the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra.